Raise Your Glass for Clean Water | World Water Day

Stop. Close your eyes. Imagine a tall glass of cool, refreshing, clear, clean water. Imagine the clink of the ice cubes tapping against the sides of the glass. Did you know that 768 million people in the world today do not have access to safe drinking water. This is approximately 1 in 10 of the world’s population. March 22nd is World Water Day.

World Water Day is a day for all of us to raise our voices, cameras, pens and pennies to provide safe drinking water for every man, woman, and child in the world. Clean and safe drinking water and sanitation should be a human right, not a luxury.

When it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty, we’ve all got a role to play, and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that it all starts with water.
~Alanna Imback, WaterAid

Everyday, women and girls world wide spend hours walking to collect water. Water that is dirty and contaminated. Water than makes them sick and could possibly kill them. Consider this:

768 million people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water
1 in 3 people worldwide do not have access to a safe, private toilet
Around 2,000 children die every daily from water-related illnesses
Women, in developing countries, walk an average of 4 miles each day to get water
A typical jerry can of water weighs 40 pounds
$220 billion would be added to the global economy each year if everyone in the world had access to sanitation and clean water

WaterAid is changing these horrifying statistics. Since 1981, WaterAid has helped over 19 million people get access to safe drinking water. Since 2004, they have helped 15.1 million people with access to toilets and sanitation.

One of my sister Global Team of 200 members is on a week long trip to Nicaragua for World Water Day. While she is there, Jennifer Barbour is getting a first hand look at community involvement around water, toilets, and hygiene education in the Latin American Caribbean region. On her blog, she will be sharing the water stories of inspirational women and girls that have benefited from clean water and sanitation.

You can join the discussion and follow Jennifer on her journey by following #WaterAidNica on Twitter. Also, we’d love if you could join Jennifer, the Global Team of 200, and WaterAid for a Twitter chat on Friday March 21st at 1 pm EST. (Use #WaterAidNica.) Jennifer will be sharing all the things she has experienced on her trip and will answer any questions you might have about what she has seen.

March 22nd is World Water Day.

In celebration, WaterAid is asking for selfies (or groupies) of you raising a glass of water to World Water Day on March 22nd! Let’s show the world we support clean and safe water! Share it on social media using hashtag #cheerstoH2O! Email me your pictures and I will include them on a post next week to share with all my readers! (If you are a blogger, include your blog URL and I will include those as well!) Let’s get #cheerstoH2O trending on World Water Day!

Every drop, every day. Water is survival. Celebrate World Water Day with us by joining our Twitter chat and raising a toast for clean water.

Everyone deserves the chance to have clean water.